Last year I detailed how taking a year’s worth of improv classes in the 1990’s changed my life (more here). More than just a series of classes or a style of theater comedy, improvisation to me is a philosophy. I recently sat down and had coffee with my first improv teacher at Players Workshop, David Murphy. Our conversation focused on some of the key principles of improvisation, various improv games and how Players Workshop fit into the comedy scene in the Chicago. Today I wanted to share with you some key improv principles and how they can be applied into everyday life.

“All the world’s a stage,

and all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts…”

-From William Shakespeare’s As You Like It

If we believe Shakespeare’s quote – and I really think there’s a lot to it – then certainly we can take some key ideas being taught in improv classes and apply it to our lives. Below are five key principles of improvisation. These are by no means official… I could probably add plenty more to this list. But for the sake of simplicity and clarity, here are five key principles…

Principle #1 Say “yes” or say “yes, and…”

I’ve seen this one in countless business and creativity books and I’ve seen it work on stage. It’s perhaps the most important principle we can learn in improv. Saying “yes” is not about agreeing to every demand or request on your time. I firmly believe in setting healthy boundaries whether it be with our family and friends.

Saying “yes” is about having a can-do attitude. On stage, when you say “yes,” you allow your character to be open for adventure with the other characters. It may not be very logical, but these adventures tend to be humorous and memorable.

In the real world, saying “yes” also shows the world that you are open to adventure and ready for any circumstance that comes your way. Saying yes demonstrates to the world that you have confidence and can handle any situation no matter how weird, crazy or uncomfortable you feel. When we say yes to crazy situations that we aren’t sure about — we grow, we learn, we push the envelope so to speak.

Principle #2 Be in the present moment…

As actors on stage, improvisers need to pay attention to what is happening “right now” in order to fully respond to the situation in the scene. This means that it’s important to be aware of where you are on stage, what kinds of gestures you are expressing, where the other characters are in relation to you and the length of the scene and whether it is working or not. Being present on stage means that you are hyper-aware of what is unfolding in front of you.

In the real world, being in the present moment often means that you are “in the zone” or in a state of flow. You’re aware of what is happening in front of you and ready to respond with the appropriate action at any time. It means making adjustments to a given situation in an effortless manner. It’s like watching or performing an elegant dance.

Whether you are acting on the stage in the theater or in life, if we are not living in the present moment, we aren’t really there. We’re daydreaming and looking forward or in the past…this means we’re missing perfectly good moments that are happening right in front of us.

Principle #3 Listen

This principle is a close cousin of #3, being in the present moment. It’s so important to listen and pay attention to what is being said on stage in order to respond in an appropriate manner. Some of the best scenes are the ones that are built on previous ones. The funniest lines are often the ones that are in response to something that was previously said. If you want to be funny or look smart on stage, you must be a good listener.

It’s just as important to listen in the real world. I’ve heard it said that “God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.” I like that expression and, if you think about it, one of the highest forms of respect you can give another person is to listen to what he/she has to say. Especially if you listen without judgment. Much of listening requires you to stay in the present moment and pay attention, as well.

Principle #4 Have fun!

While improv does have a reputation for being funny, one of the most profound things I’ve learned from improv is to not try to be funny. It’s more important to focus on your character and let the humor develop naturally. Perhaps more important than trying to be funny, is being playful. This playful attitude will likely lead to humor and adventure on stage. If you think you are too old to get on stage and act like a four year-old, chances are you are not playful enough. Writing from experience, one of the most liberating things I’ve done in my improv classes was to get into character of a four year-old.

In real life, a sense of playfulness and of fun will likely lead to a lower blood pressure and greater happiness and approachability. It might also lead to a greater number of friends and less likelihood that you will experience adultitis.

Principle #5 Your partner is the most important person on the stage

This principle is courtesy of David Murphy and perhaps one of the big reasons that I felt comfortable doing improv despite my shyness and stage fright when I first started. According to Murphy, “when you are focused on the other person, you take the attention off yourself and begin to relax and get comfortable.”

What Murphy says about this principle also makes sense off the stage, as well. A great example of this is at networking sessions. So many of us feel uncomfortable when we are networking because we just don’t know what to say and we feel phony. Sometimes, we just don’t know how to ask for help. But what happens when you have a genuine interest in helping your fellow networkers? Chances are, you begin to forget about your own problems and agenda and you feel more energized. And often, this help you provide others gets reciprocated.

As you can see, the same rules that make you a better improviser on stage can also make you a more creative, interesting person in everyday life.

How about you…in what have you said yes to recently that normally you would have said no to?

Back in my college days, one of my favorite memories was walking out of a class feeling enlightened. You know, the feeling of having that a-ha moment.Â I still remember a media studies lecture which explored small group behavior through the characters in the movie The Poseidon Adventure. That lecture was both profound and incredibly entertaining. Today, I can proudly admit that I am an idea geek. While I am no longer in school, the internet provides us with many places we can exchange ideas.

One such place is at TED. While TED originally stood for technology, entertainment and design, their focus has evolved to “ideas worth spreading.” For me, the TED site makes me feel like a kid in a candy store and it allows me to have those a-ha moments over and over again.

This past week, I had the opportunity to attend the TEDx Windy City event, which explored the theme of creative convergence. I went into the event incredibly tired after a day of painting, but walked out feeling energized and enlightened.

I particularly enjoyed Donald Marinelli’s lecture about blending theater and craftsmanship with computers and technology. Marinelli, from Carnegie Mellon University, worked closely with the late Randy Pausch. While his presentation was delivered via Skype due to weather-related travel problems, Marinelli’s entertaining delivery held everyone’s attention.

Other speakers included Dawn Hancock, creative director and owner of Firebelly Design and Zach Kaplan, CEO of Inventables. Both Hancock and Kaplan, through their example, challenged all of us in the audience to explore our passions and follow our bliss.

If there happens to be a TED event in your area, I invite you to check it out. Or visit the official TED site.

Another place that I like to visit for some great ideas is ChangeThis, a site loaded with numerous PDFs and manifestos. According to their site, ChangeThis is “on an important mission to spread ideas and change minds.” On it you’ll find downloadable documents from great thinkers such as Seth Godin, Sally Hogshead, Jonathan Fields and Keith Ferazzi to name just a few.

I’m hungry. Not in a literal sense…actually, I just finished eating my dinner before writing this. No, I’m hungry for information, knowledge and the magic of a powerful thought and a well-crafted sentence. I’m hungry for fiction so engaging that I forget to eat, drink or go to the bathroom. This doesn’t happen to me often, but when it does, it’s nirvana.

Books are my head candy and, like a Kit-Kat, I cannot get enough. You see, I’m on a mission…a mission to be intellectually buff. I love books and currently have more books and magazines than I have time to read them. But that’s okay, I’m always comforted knowing that I have at least one magazine and one book on-deck.

The other day I was at a fast food restaurant ordering food. Since I happened to be dining alone on that occasion, I had a book in my hand ready to eat and read. After placing my order, the young man behind the counter saw my book and made a confession to me: “Besides my textbooks in school, I’ve only read two books in my life.”

Huh? Only two books?

I wanted to yell out to him, “are you crazy, you’ve only read two books for pleasure!?” But I tried to approach the conversation without judgment. I also tried to engage in a conversation with him since I was the only person in line.

“Have you ever read Stephen King?” I asked, thinking that he fit the demographic of a guy who would enjoy a good Stephen King horror novel.

It turns out he did read one Stephen King story…one of his short stories that was made into a movie. One of the newer ones that I’ve neither seen nor read. I flashed back to my teen years when I was mesmerized by reading King’s stories especially Misery, The Stand, The Talisman, Salem’s Lot and the novellas in The Bachman Books. These books fueled my imagination and gave me endless hours of entertainment.

I don’t tell you this story to feel superior or to look down on this restaurant employee. I tell you this story as a reminder to not take books for granted.

I still remember sitting in my high school history class when our teacher, Mr. O’Malley, reminded us that countries used to withhold books and information in order to control and oppress and its citizens. We still see this today in many parts of the world, especially third-world countries and the middle east where literacy rates hover at less than 50 percent.

I’m not a parent, but when my friends who are parents tell me that they read to their kids every night, it’s magic to my ears. When I go to the library and I see a mom with her kids checking out a big stack of books, I smile. I am so thankful that my parents encouraged me to read when I was a kid.

A few months ago, my friend Lori at Jane Be Nimble, had a post that detailed some of the books by her nightstand. I can identify. Some of the books by my nightstand currently include:

Along Came a Spider by James Patterson. I’ve read a couple of the ladies detective agency books and have enjoyed them, but have never read an Alex Cross mystery. I realize this series is probably not going to challenge me like classic literature would, but the point here is pure entertainment.

Back In Control: How to Stay Sane, Productive and Inspired in Your Career Transition by Diane Grimard Wilson. At the end of last year, Ms. Wilson gave a talk that I attended and gave this book away. I found her talk to be fascinating…it gave us a psychological approach to career transition and the job hunt.Â She also gave us a squeezable stress ball shaped like a brain. Cool!

The Law of Attraction: The Basic Teachings of Abraham by Esther and Jerry Hicks. I’m pretty intrigued by the whole law of attraction thing. I can fully understand why many people are skeptical, however being the curious person that I am, I wanted to get Esther and Jerry Hicks’ perspective. I’m still early into this book and don’t really know what to make of it yet.

The Zen of Organizing(library book) by Regina Leeds. What can I say? I need to clear out some clutter in my life (not my books) and the beginning of the year is a good time to read this. I think it’s out of print, but you might find it in your local library like I did. It is in print and available on Amazon.com – which is good to know because I really need to get busy on my organizing. I enjoy how she combines the principles of zen with clearing clutter.

Made to Stick by Dan and Chip Heath. I’ve found this book to be simply amazing. If you’re into ideas or telling stories, you need to read this book. I recommend this book to bloggers, since I think we are about providing memorable, sticky content for our readers.

In my book (pun intended), reading is one of the most important things we can do to enrich both ourselves and our kids. And we need to read what’s going on with our government…after all, we elected them to represent us.

For bicycle messengers (and other cyclists), the winter is what separates the professionals from the wannabees. I realized this earlier today as I was walking downtown in Chicago on a cold, gray and windy day as I watched a lone cyclist struggle to pedal fast down the street.

Once upon a time, when I was out of high school looking for a summer job, I wanted to become a bike messenger. It was partly inspired by my love for cycling and watching Kevin Bacon in the movie Quicksilver. I decided against the bike messenger gig because it would have involved a 14 mile round-trip ride plus whatever miles I would cycle during the workday.

Seeing this lone bike messenger today also reminded me of a time about 10 years ago when I was working a freelance gig at a local university. On one very cold, snowy day, a bike messenger (who was less than six feet and 150 lbs.) walked into our office to deliver a 10 ream box of paper. I will never forget that moment he walked in — out of breath, dripping wet and his glasses so fogged up that I’m surprised he knew where he was going. My mouth dropped wondering how this rather small guy could deliver such a large, heavy package in near-blizzard conditions. It turns out he rode more than two miles with the box on his front handlebars.

Recalling this incident again today reminds me of an earlier post I wrote about showing up. It prompts me to ask:

What is it that you want to do so badly that your willing to show up every day, no matter how bad the weather or how crazy you look doing it? What is it that you love doing so much that your salary is secondary to your personal satisfaction? What are you willing to do that all the wannabees don’t want to do?

Last month, I did something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time…I took a meditation class. As someone with a plethora of ideas flowing in my head, I felt like I needed a calming influence. It was roughly ten years ago that I first meditated during a yoga class at my local YMCA. I had some great experiences during that time and I remember getting into my car after class not caring whether another driver wanted to cut me off. After all, I had just experienced deep inner peace.

This time around, I hoped that my five-week class would explore meditation in greater depth. I hoped for some big answers to all of my questions and all the “little tricks” that would help me find inner calm.

Our class was small…there were eight of us and we sat in a semi-circle on meditation cushions. We faced a small altar and the swami who was teaching the class. There was a faint smell of incense from the other room. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t feel a little weird in this setting.

We started each session with a five or ten minute meditation including some prayerful chanting from the swami. I felt relaxed, but my “monkey brain” was still jumping around with random thoughts.

We went on to learn that using a mantra, such as “om” is a useful tool to keep our minds from jumping all over the place. We were also instructed to focus on one of two points: either the point between our eyes or an area in the center of our chest. Our homework was to practice meditation for five or ten minutes every morning.

I found the homework to be challenging and as my mind wandered and I could hear distractions from traffic and my neighbors. But I did find that I had sporadic moments of relaxation and connection with some higher plane.

At each class, the swami asked us about our experience doing our “homework.” Most of us reported having a lot of problems focusing and dealing with distractions, especially a gentleman whose 15 pound cat always jumped on him during his meditations. A couple members of the class reported that they could not find the time or were too distracted to meditate.

The swami answered our questions and assured us that meditation, whether done correctly or not, was a very positive step. He went on to say that our minds really want to be left alone, and the act of meditating was a way we can exercise greater control of our mind.

When my last class was over, I felt slightly let down. I did not have that big “a-ha” moment I had hoped for nor did I feel like I was any better at meditating. I was not sure I felt any different as a result of taking of these classes. And my mind still felt quite untamed.

But now, one week from our last class, I came to a realization that meditation was like a lot of things in life…the simple act of showing up can make the difference. Think about it, how many times have you dreaded working out only to really get into it once you got there? I believe that meditation, and life in general, is a lot like that.

If there is something we really want out of life, whether it be to be a writer, to achieve inner peace through meditation, or to be a chef…we need to show up.Â We may not be good at these things just yet, but the willingness to work at it even when we’re not good will take us closer to where we want to be.

I’ll see you on the meditation cushion (my pillow) tomorrow morning!

Have you experienced moments you were thankful for showing up even when part of you really did not want to?

I’m not proud to admit this, but I’ve been laid off three times. I’ve heard someone tell me, “you haven’t made it in advertising unless you’ve been laid off a couple times.” Looking back, I’m not sure I agree with that statement. Throughout this process, I’ve learned many major life lessons from getting laid off, including these ten:

1) Do not take it personal. There might be a million reasons why they let you go…it may not have anything to do with your abilities to do the job.

2) Take time out to sort out your emotions before getting serious with your search.

3) You need to be contributing to the bottom line (and justifying your existence) in your company at all times.

4) It might be a good time to start your own business.

5) Having a light workload might be good for your sanity, but puts you in danger of losing your job.

6) Join Toastmasters. It can help you to not only improve your public speaking skills, but it can also help improve your interview skills and expand your personal network. My biggest regret is not joining Toastmasters sooner.